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Precipitated Calcium Carbonate from Limestone

Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) is a mineral that occurs naturally in chalks, limestones and marbles. Its largest use is in the pulp-and-paper industry as a filler and pigment. Other calcium carbonate applications include its use in building construction, plant and crop fertilizers, food additives, water and sewage treatment, ceramics, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.

Technology Description

The following paragraphs describe a carbonization process for precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC) production from limestone.

Calcination

Initially, the limestone from a quarry is stored in bins. Typical extracted limestone contains about 75 wt% of CaCO3. Mined limestone is crushed in a jaw crusher and calcined (burned) in a vertical-shaft lime kiln at about 1,000°C. In the kiln, the calcium carbonate present in the limestone decomposes into calcium oxide (CaO; also known as lime or quicklime) and carbon dioxide, which is captured and treated for reuse in the process.

Slaking

The CaO is fed to a stirred slaker tank, where it is ...

Carbonation

The pure slaked lime is then fed to ...

Drying, Grinding and Finishing

The slurry from the carbonators is ...

Economic Performance

An economic evaluation of the process described was conducted based on data from the first quarter, 2014. The scope of this analysis assumes a PCC plant located near a limestone quarry.

The total capital investment required to construct a plant with the capacity to produce 50,000 metric tons per year of PCC in the U.S. is estimated at ...

The production costs (including costs associated with plant operation, product sales, administration, R&D activities and depreciation) are about ...